247wallst.com: Olympus Will Disappear in 2014 — Displayed on Yahoo Finance

[kbg32]

Sad. Who'da thunk....

http://petapixel.com/2013/05/29/yahoo-finance-olympus-will-disappear-in-2014/#disqus_thread

But I read last night that Sony and Olympus have ventured into partnership. Olympus will produce lenses for Sony.

http://www.thephoblographer.com/2013/05/29/the-sony-olympus-partnership-is-coming-to-bear-fruit/

 

[Keith]

I hope this is wrong ... Olympus are a company I'd like to see stay around but if those figures they quoted for turnover are correct it's not looking good.

I think I need to hug my OM-1 🙁

 

[kbg32]

Apparently Olympus has only 7% of the world-wide market. Pretty low. They have been losing a great deal of money. Especially since their mismanagement fiasco a few years ago.

 

[Rodchenko]

It's been a disastrous few years for Olympus. I'm surprised that they have managed to survive so long and bring excellent products such as the OM-D and Pen series to the market.

I would cry if they go.

 

[Gabriel M.A.]

Whaaaaahhh???

Goes to show you could have a great product, but people evidently have different tastes.

This would bring OM-D prices down, and then up. Collectors' siren call.

 

[KansanTim]

Apparently Olympus has only 7% of the world-wide market. Pretty low. They have been losing a great deal of money. Especially since their mismanagement fiasco a few years ago.

I thought 7% seemed like a pretty strong market share, in that a company could be very successful with it. Where would that put Olympus compared to other companies? Below Canon, Nikon, Sony, but any others?

Mismanagement and losing money are another matter...

 

[jsrockit]

I thought 7% seemed like a pretty strong market share, in that a company could be very successful with it. ...

Yeah, what's Leica's market share?

 

[NazgulKing]

Anyone who writes such an article obviously has no idea how the Japanese think.

 

[kbg32]

Anyone who writes such an article obviously has no idea how the Japanese think.

Explain please?

 

[cz23]

If so, gotta wonder what the impact would be on the m4/3 standard and Panasonic. Not good, I expect.

John

 

[Mackinaw]

I agree, considering all of the camera manufacturers out there, a 7% market share ain't bad.

But you have to make money selling them. Apparently Olympus is not.

I do hope they make it though.

Jim B.

 

[Vobluda]

Olympus should have disappear after the discovery of the financial fraud last year.

 

[kbg32]

Olympus should have disappear after the discovery of the financial fraud last year.

Luckily they didn't. They're still producing great products.

 

[NazgulKing]

Explain please?

Olympus is regarded as a strategic company by the Japanese. The worst case scenario was that it would have been broken up. But instead, they got funding from Sony. Unless they are hit by more problems, in the worst case is that they have to go find funds from Japanese banks again.

Hell, Sharp is still alive all things considered, even though they are being bled white.

 

[Exdsc]

I could not find the original article and I'm not going to click on petapixel link, petapixel gets plenty of traffic by sensationalistic articles linked to forums etc..

 

[kdemas]

Let's hope they're wrong. I read that Oly is dropping their volume low priced line (due to smart phone competition) so hopefully they're changing strategy to achieve a more sound financial position. Canon saw a 35% drop in the same low end market.

http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2013/05/16/olympus-to-drop-cheap-point-and-shoot-cameras/

 

[kbg32]

Maybe their former CEO should hand back his "golden umbrella".

 

[f16sunshine]

They have a big presence in medical optics as well. I did not read the article (times out before opening). Is it only the camera biz they would duck out of?

 

[maddoc]

Olympus is regarded as a strategic company by the Japanese. The worst case scenario was that it would have been broken up. But instead, they got funding from Sony. Unless they are hit by more problems, in the worst case is that they have to go find funds from Japanese banks again.

Hell, Sharp is still alive all things considered, even though they are being bled white.

They could face the same fate as Sanyo did, becoming absorbed by a big competitor (Panasonic in that case), keeping important products alive.

 

[jsrockit]

True, but how about vacation cameras? Many (based on tourist spots in NYC) still seem to be using regular cameras (not phones) when travelling.